"You wish it could speak for itself": examining the use of aesthetic representation in an elementary teacher preparation program

[...] we discuss how using aesthetic representations in the classroom has enriched understandings and expressions of literacy while allowing us, as university professors, to differentiate for individual students' needs, strengths, and interests. [...] higherlevel thinking was fostered through the social aspects of this process, such as on-line postings, class discussions, and the final presentations of the actual aesthetic representations.